| Overall Rating | Gold |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.40 |
| Liaison | Parker Long |
| Submission Date | Aug. 27, 2021 |
Virginia Commonwealth University
AC-10: Support for Sustainability Research
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
4.00 / 4.00 |
Parker
Long Sustainability Reporting and Outreach Coordinator Facilities Management - Office of Sustainability |
Does the institution have an ongoing program to encourage students in multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
A brief description of the student sustainability research program:
Undergraduate Fellowships for Inquiry, Inclusion and Innovation (iCubed)
The Institute for Inquiry, Inclusion and Innovation (iCubed) will fund research fellowship awards for projects mentored by VCU faculty that fall within the seven iCubed Cores: 1. Sustainable Food Access 2. Intersections in the Lives of LGBTQIA+ Communities 3. Urban Education and Family 4. Disrupting Criminalization in Education. Each fellowship award includes $1,500 in funding for the student and $500 for the faculty mentor. Eligibility: Work-study eligible undergraduates pursuing research in any discipline(s) which aligns with the above iCubed Cores.
Does the institution have a program to encourage academic staff from multiple disciplines or academic programs to conduct sustainability research?:
A brief description of the faculty sustainability research program:
The VCU Presidential Research Quest Fund (PeRQ) is grounded in the president's commitment to develop and enhance faculty scholarship across the institution. PeRQ’s goal is to afford all faculty an internal funding opportunity to support new, emerging or continuing research.
Proposed research should align with the goals and key strategies presented in VCU’s Quest 2025: Together We Transform strategic plan and the strategic research priorities plan.
The Strategic Research Priorities Plan includes Initiative 4: Supporting sustainable energy and environments.
Goal 4.1: Advance renewable energy sources, energy saving, clean air and water resources, resilient natural systems and biodiversity through the research, development and application of novel, evidence-based solutions.
Goal 4.2: Educate our communities and inform positive changes in environmental policy and practice at local, state and national scales by effectively translating and communicating our data and published scholarship.
Goal 4.3: Create environmentally and economically sustainable materials,
products, processes and infrastructure.
Has the institution published written policies and procedures that give positive recognition to interdisciplinary, transdisciplinary, and multidisciplinary research during faculty promotion and/or tenure decisions?:
A copy of the promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
The promotion or tenure guidelines or policies:
Excellence is the original and continuing goal of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). A prerequisite of this goal is the recruitment and retention of a distinguished faculty. This requires the appointment, promotion and tenure of a faculty in a way that encourages excellence in the creation, dissemination and application of new knowledge and artistic expression and fosters an atmosphere of free inquiry and innovation in a global setting.
Appointment, promotion and tenure are based on the merit of the individual, consideration of comparable achievement in the faculty member's particular field, and the faculty member's value to the mission, needs and resources of the university. Central to the appointment, promotion and tenure process is VCU’s commitment to recognize and reward faculty members who help fulfill the mission and vision of the university.
VCU's Strategic Plan, Quest 2025, has included increasing interdisciplinary collaborations and community partnerships that advance innovation, enhance cultural and economic vitality, and solve society’s most complex challenges
Does the institution have ongoing library support for sustainability research and learning?:
A brief description of the institution’s library support for sustainability research:
VCU Libraries supports sustainability research and learning with collections, research consultations, and discipline-based instruction activities. Collections include access to databases like GreenFILE, GREENR, JSTOR Sustainability Collection, Sustainability Science Abstracts, and Web of Science, as well as over 100,000 titles with the subject heading sustainability.
Some examples of research guides covering specialized resources include Sustainable Design (http://guides.library.vcu.edu/sustainable-design), Environmental Sciences (http://guides.library.vcu.edu/environmental-sciences), Public Health (https://guides.library.vcu.edu/public-health), and Patient Safety (https://guides.library.vcu.edu/patient-safety).
The VCU Medical Center Health and Wellness Library (https://www.vcuhealth.org/for-your-health/health-and-wellness-library/) is a resource available to VCU and VCU Health employees, patients, and students and provides health information and programs to support and inform healthy living. Librarians also offer customized research consultations and instruction sessions to help students and researchers studying sustainability and related topics. VCU Libraries also provides support for research data management, publishing, multimedia and other creative technologies, and for data visualization, mapping, and other visual communication.
Website URL where information about the institution’s support for sustainability research is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
Portions of this text are attributed to Hillary Miller - Scholarly Communications Librarian, VCU Libraries at Virginia Commonwealth University
Portions of this text are attributed to Hillary Miller - Scholarly Communications Librarian, VCU Libraries at Virginia Commonwealth University
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